Aiyer: Lege should get out of the way and let cities lead on education

By Jay Aiyer

Published 5:21 pm, Thursday, September 1, 2016

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus' announcement that the state House of Representatives will look at school funding changes is a hopeful sign that some progress can be made in fixing our education system. In the aftermath of the Texas Supreme Court's recent decision upholding it, the general view was that the likelihood of the Legislature reforming the system was remote. While the limited scope of Straus' charge to his colleagues tempers some of that optimism, there may be a small silver lining - it may encourage the state to return to its historic policy of devolving more authority to local governments, allowing them to lead on education.

Texas state government often has been limited in its ability to find solutions to large-scale problems.

That tradition has been exacerbated in the last two decades by an increasingly ideologically driven Legislature preoccupied with social issues and less concerned with problem-solving. When pressed to act, the result has often been complex, byzantine-like systems to address issues. We need to look no further than the state franchise tax system, school funding formulas and failure to expand Medicaid to see the ineffectiveness of recent state policy-making. No governmental entity in Texas exemplifies the adage - "government is at its best when it governs the least" more than the Texas Legislature.

Texas is structurally designed to be a limited state government, With a part-time Legislature and weak executive, it was meant to stay out of the way of individuals and localities. Texas government, in effect, is like a modern version of Renaissance Italy - a collection of large, expanding city-states with a weak central government. In some ways, we err in expecting too much from it.

That model has made Texas the fastest-growing state with large expanding metropolitan areas, each unique in their governance structure and development. Austin, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, San Antonio and, of course, Houston are respectively completely different in organization, structure and governance, but each has been fantastically successful. The simple fact is local government and its policies have helped fuel the growth of the state and have bolstered the Texas economy. State government has played a limited role.

Threatening that success, however, has been an increasingly interfering Legislature that has overturned the will of local voters related to everything from fracking bans to plastic bag use.

In the aftermath of local elections in Austin regarding regulations for vehicle-for-hire companies and school superintendent decisions related to LGBT students, conversation has been sparked about statewide regulations for vehicles for hire and statewide restrictions on bathroom access. State government has lost its focus. Lawmakers need to move away from the impulse to centralize local decisions.

The most significant thing the Legislature can do is return power to the citizens and localities, and nowhere can that be more efficiently done than in education.

During the last legislative session, former Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, outlined a path forward through the introduction of HB 1759, an initiative that created separate local taxing districts with equal property value to provide equity in public school funding, and which removed centralized control. The system would be a permanent solution to the structural funding inequities that exist in parts of the state and would be a locally structured entity. Equally important, it would leave the governance, accountability and expansion of education locally controlled and governed outside of state interference. Federal dollars and programs could flow directly to local government and outside of state interference.

Additionally, authority could be given to cities and counties to expand educational offerings based on the will of local communities. For example, early childcare/pre-K programs could be developed locally, with communities given the authority to pay for programs. Voters have consistently said that they want to make decisions related to schools and have the opportunity to control education directly without state interference. In issues of student performance accountability, localities, not state bureaucrats, should be setting testing policy. In a state as large and diverse as Texas, a one-size-fits-all solution will never settle the ongoing testing debate.

Finally, local districts need to become more efficient and effective in how they use limited resources. Former state Comptroller and current Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp's pioneering Texas School Performance Review provided a data-driven approach to introducing efficiency in local districts, providing detailed reform suggestions to save money and evaluate effectiveness. Districts saved millions as a result of this effort, and we need them to return to that approach. Locally, the Houston Independent School District has not had a comprehensive external review in several years while budgets have become more complex and funding demands have increased.

This next session can be a real opportunity to fundamentally change the way our state manages public education. Speaker Straus' decision to wade into school-funding reform is a good first step in developing a more efficient and workable solution.

In a state as large and complex as Texas, acting locally may be the smartest thing we can do.